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[[Image:Sanremo007.jpg|thumb|right|200px|A view of Sanremo from the sea]]
'''Sanremo''' is a city with about 56,000 inhabitants and lies on the Mediterranean coast of western [[Liguria]] in northwestern [[Italy]].
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Once a Roman settlement (Matutia or Villa Matutiana), it has expanded in the Early [[Middle Age]] when the population moved to the high grounds and built a castle and a walled village (La Pigna) to protect the city from [Saracen] raids. At first subjected to the countship of Ventimiglia, it passed later under the dominion of the Genoese bishops, who in 1297 sold it to the Doria and De Mari families. It became a free town in the second half of the 15th century and spread on the Pigna hill and at San Siro, near the Cathedral. The old village remains almost perfectly conserved nowadays.
[[Image:Sanremo0002.jpg|thumb|left|200px|A narrow street in ''La Pigna'']]
Sanremo was independent from Genoa for a long time, but in 1753, after twenty years of strong contrasts, it rose against the hegemonical attempts of the chief town. The Genoese built against the town the fortress of Santa Tecla (a prison until 2002 now being transformed into a museum) situated on the beach near the historical port.
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==Turism==
[[Image:Sanremo005.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sanremo by night]]
Sanremo enjoys peculiar weather condition throughout the year due to its vicinity to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] and the presences of [[Maritime Alps]] right behind the town, the highest top (Monte Bignone) being some 1300 m. above the sea level. Temperatures range from an average of 10°C during winter (the chilliest month being January) and 23°C over the summer. Such conditions make Sanremo one of the most attractive turist destinations of the [[Italian Riviera]]. There are plenty of tourist attractions in Sanremo that are open all year round and can boast numerous and well-equipped sports facilities, such as a golf course and a riding ground. There are two tourist harbour: Porto Vecchio and the modern PortoSole. Many boutiques and local shops can be found in the town centre. Very famous among the people living in the Italian and French riviear is the colorful market held on Tuesday and Saturday mornings Piazza Eroi Sanremesi.
==Transports==
The city is connected to [[Genoa]] (Italian [[Genova]]) and to the border with [[France]] by the freeway A10, whose last part is also known as "Freeway of Flowers" (Autostrada dei Fiori) and gives a panoramic view of the coast. The closes airport to Sanremo is [[Nice]] [[Côte d'Azur]] airport, only 45 minutes from the freeway entrance. The railway also passes through the city and connects it to the other Ligurian cities as well as [[Nice]], [[Milan]], [[Turin]] and [[Rome]]. Once located right on the coastline, very close to the sea, allowing travelers to admire the beauty of it, the tracks have now moved further north and underground. As an effect, the main train station has also been relocated and it is now next to the City Hall. Today an ongoing project, carried by [[http://www.area24spa.it Area 24]], is dealing with the task of refurbishing the old area once occupied by the tracks and converting it into a biking route and a pedestrian area.
==Economy==
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[[Maria Alexandrovna]], consort of [[Alexander II of Russia]], spent the winter of 1874 in Sanremo and as a gift to the city she later donated the palms that now decorate the seaside walk of Corso Imperatrice (Empress Avenue).
[[Alfred Nobel]] bought a house in Sanremo in [[1891]] and died here in [[1896]]. The house is since 2002 the place for a permanent exhibit on the most important discoveries of the [[19th century]] including the research interests of Nobel himself.
[[Image:Sanremo006.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Villa Nobel]]
Italian writer [[Italo Calvino]] spent his youth in Sanremo and many of his novels, including [[Il Barone Rampante]] remind of his attachment to the city.
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